15-yr-old girl raped by GSU officer seeks justice

Lamu, KENYA: A 15-year-old class four girl in Kiunga Lamu East is seeking justice after she was allegedly raped by a General Service Unit-GSU last week.

The matter only came to light after the intervention of Lamu woman rep Ruweida Obo who is demanding for the arrest and prosecution of the said officer who is still walking scot-free days after he committed the act.

The said officer is attached to the Ishakani GSU camp on the Lamu-Somalia border and is said to have committed the act when he visited Kiunga area, five kilometers away.

The officer is said to have lured the girl into a house in Kiunga town where he is said to have repeatedly raped her and threatened to shoot her dead if she ever told him out.

The officer is however said to have paid off Sh.20,000 to the girl’s parents when he discovered that she had told them of what he did to her.

The money was meant to buy the girl’s parents silence.

However, having found her voice through Obo, the girl now wants justice for what happened to her.

“The officer is well known and respected in Kiunga where he used to work before being posted to Ishakani.We are used to him helping the needy here and so when he called me on my parent’s phone and asked that I go collect some goods at one Hussein’s house, I couldn’t suspect anything.But when he came he insisted that we go inside to which I was very hesitant.He pounced on me, pulled me into the house, tied me up with clothes and raped repeatedly.He said he would shoot me dead if I screamed or ever told anyone what happened,” said the girl.

Obbo said she received a text message from a concerned resident informing her of a girl who had been raped by a GSU officer.

“Apparently, the girl’s parents told me they had already resolved the matter locally and that I shouldn’t worry.That’s when I learned they had accepted Sh.20,000 from the officer for them not to pursue the matter.However, when I spoke to the girl, she is still bitter and said she wants justice.We moved her from Kiunga to Lamu.That officer must be arrested and prosecuted.This rapes against children by people in uniform must stop,” said Obbo.

Lamu East OCPD Gideon Mugambi denied knowledge of the matter.

Lamu county commissioner Gilbert Kitiyo also said he wasn’t aware of the incident.

“I have no information. Why don’t you call the GSU’s bosses? I can’t comment on that issue since I am not informed,” said Kitiyo.

This comes just a week after a KWS officer was found in a lodge with a 14-year-old school girl in Hindi town.

Despite his immediate arrest a week ago, the officer has never been arraigned in court.

Cases of young girls being abused in Lamu are on the rise with parents failing to pursue justice for the affected children and instead opting for out of court settlements where they are normally given some money.

In December last year, an 80-year-old man raped and infected a nine-year-old girl with HIV at Saba Saba village in Hindi, Lamu west.